In the summer when all students have their long-awaited vacations but don’t want to part with their university, friends and life, the sports and health camp “Zelenyi Bor” (“The Green Pine Forest”) opens wide its doors. It is located in one of the most picturesque places in Tatarstan, which is on the bank of the Volga River 35 km. from Kazan.

The camp has 40 cozy wooden houses for 250 students. Students have all facilities for their sport activities such as courts and equipment for volleyball, basketball, football, badminton, ping-pong, and chess. Those who want to stay one on one with nature for a while can go fishing or just have a walk in the forest which surrounds the camp.

When you have such an active life and growing body you need to eat a lot. The administration of “Zelenyi Bor” knows it and is ready to feed every student five times a day!

But nature is not all that the camp can offer to its students. The entertaining program is made for every day! Teachers and active students who came to the camp for implementing the plan do their best to make camp life more interesting and memorable. During daytime students are involved in sport events and contests, different training or dancing classes, while in the evening all gather in the big canteen and have fun in intellectual completions or funny and musical contests. And all ends with a discotheque. By the end of shift everyone has nice presents!

Overall 600 students rest in “Zelenyi Bor”.

The camp is also proud of inviting students from other universities and chemistry schools in other cities to spend their summer together with our students.

In 2009, for the first time 10 students from the USA, participants of language practice program who learned Russian, rested in the camp. The shift was gathered of KSTU students learning English so it was great experience for both our and American students to practice their language skills and to get to know more about each other’s culture and mentality. Following the conditions of the program which state that every American student had to live in the house with KNRTU students so they could practice their Russian, the aim of improving language skills and interaction with native speakers was achieved. So by the end of the program everyone admitted that they felt their Russian had got a lot better. Going back to KSTU students, the program was organized the way that they had English lesson in the form of games and fun activities during the daytime every day.

In the evening American students and KNRTU students competed, played, sang and danced together while taking part in entertainment program. But… students from the USA acted in Russian and our students in English! We must admit that in team contests members of teams were form America and Russia mixed. It was amazing the way they supported and helped each other!

All the students were so happy to see that Chelsea, an American girl, became Ms. Zelyenyi Bor. We can’t say that the camp is a paradise… well, it is a paradise, but not for those who seek comfortable “city” conditions. When you are in the camp you feel beyond civilization, but in peaceful, healthy, not very quiet but merry and friendly atmosphere.

“Zelyenyi Bor” is a summer camp to play sports, relax, improve your health, to make new friend, have fun and now to all of these we can add – to learn new languages and culture!

Everyone of them improved her/his language skills, made good friends and had a great time in the camp. Not in vain most of the student admit that time the spent in the camp was the best in the summer. It was our first experience of organizing such a serious event but it was a success!